Saul Alvarez v Dmitry Bivol preview: Canelo to add more gold to his legacy?

Eleven months on from unifying the super-middleweight division, four-division champion, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez aims to add another title to his CV when he takes on WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in Las Vegas.

Moving up in weight yet again, Alvarez returns during Cinco De Mayo week to his toughest test since GGG as the Russian looks to hand the Mexican legend his second career pro loss.

Canelo looking to cement his greatest-of-all-time status

Saul Alvarez has established himself as the pound-for-pound number one in the world and is currently on a 16-fight unbeaten streak. He suffered only loss of his career to Floyd Mayweather Jr back in September 2013.

He may be moving up in weight, but this is not Canelo’s first rodeo at 175 pounds. He moved up in late 2019 and destroyed Sergey Kovalev to capture the WBO title.

Like that fight, Alvarez will be a heavy favourite (1/5) against Dmitry Bivol. Canelo may have made easy work of Kovalev back then, but Bivol is a different animal. This unbeaten Russian is in his prime and has not looked vulnerable in any of his fights so far.

However, at just 31-years-old, Alvarez is very much at his own peak and does not show signs of slowing down any time soon.

Alvarez always welcomes a challenge and Canelo has proven in the past that a size difference does not deter him. Kovalev was four inches taller and had a two-inch reach advantage. Against Bivol, Alvarez is facing a boxer of similar size.

This will be a test of how quickly Alvarez can get within his range. He has sometimes had issues against middleweights with a potent jab, so a light heavyweight may present a bit more of a challenge.

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Bivol aiming to stay undefeated to retain his belt

In the early of Sunday morning, Dmitry Bivol will look to successfully defend his WBA light heavyweight title for the eleventh time.

Bivol is an underdog for the first time in his professional career (7/2), and against a smaller fighter – even if it is the great Canelo Alvarez. Bivol, despite not being well known, has been arguably the most dominant boxer in his weight division.

While Bivol is a decision machine, the way he’s getting these decisions speaks volumes. He has hardly lost a round and has often outclassed his opponents to the tune of 120 or 119 scorecards. In drawn-out championship fights, being able to consistently win rounds always has its advantages.

The 31-year-old uses an effective jab to keep his opponents at bay. He has powerful straight shots and can throw flurries in a hurry.

Even if he hasn’t knocked anyone out in his last six bouts, a clean shot from Bivol could potentially even stagger the iron-chinned Alvarez so there is plenty to like about this underdog.

Who will reign as the WBA light heavyweight champ?

The heavy favourite Canelo Alvarez will be giving up a size and reach advantage but one thing to note is the disparity in professional fights between the two.

Despite both being 31, Alvarez has 28 more knockout wins than Bivol has bouts, though the champion has an extensive amateur background with a 268-15 record.

With that in mind, we’ve enhanced odds for Canelo to win by KO/TKO or DQ from 11/5 to 5/2.

However, with this bout is so evenly matched, we have also enhanced odds for either fighter to within rounds 1-6 (was 5/1, now 6/1).

Whichever way the result goes, we are set for a firework show in Las Vegas to cap off Cinco de Mayo week in style.

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